Sony_Vaio_VGN-BX297XP

Before starting

Before starting you have to(in windows):

• enable the bluetooth
• save your windows xp to a dvd-r or dvd+r
• check that your hardware is ok

while backuping your windows that you won't use seems at first sight a stupid idea...it could be usefull if your computer has hardware problems...the guys from the Sony support could send you back the computer telling you that windows isn't installed

Hardware

# lspci
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller (rev 04)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 04)
0000:00:1b.0 0403: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 03)
0000:00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
0000:00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)
0000:00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 03)
0000:00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 03)
0000:00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 03)
0000:00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #4 (rev 03)
0000:00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 03)
0000:00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev d3)
0000:00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 03)
0000:00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) SATA Controller (rev 03)
0000:00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility X700 (PCIE)
0000:03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8053 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 19)
0000:06:08.0 Mass storage controller: Silicon Image, Inc. SiI 3512 [SATALink/SATARaid] Serial ATA Controller (rev 01)
0000:06:09.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx21/x515 Cardbus Controller
0000:06:09.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
0000:06:09.3 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments PCIxx21 Integrated FlashMedia Controller
0000:06:0a.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG (rev 05)
0000:06:0b.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 61)
0000:06:0b.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 61)
0000:06:0b.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 63)

# lsusb
Bus 007 Device 002: ID 044e:300c Alps Electric Co., Ltd
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 0483:2016 SGS Thomson Microelectronics Fingerprint Reader
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 04fc:0003 Sunplus Technology Co., Ltd CM1092 Optical Scroller Mouse
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0ac8:c001 Z-Star Microelectronics Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04b4:6830 Cypress Semiconductor Corp. USB-2.0 IDE Adapter
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Hard disk drives

enable the ata_piix in the kenrel: it's under: Device Drivers->Serial ATA (prod) and Parallel ATA (experimental) drivers->Intel PIIX/ICH SATA support (ATA_PIIX)

Raid

there is 2 hard disk in this computer...so we have the choice: we can:

• make a raid0
• make a raid1

in order to make the raid boot using a gentoo livecd(ubuntu works well as well) follow this guide

Ethernet

See this guide.

Xorg

screen

before swithing to Xorg 7.2 i had xorg 7.1.1 it can detect your monitor setting and it worked in order to create a config file(needed later) type as root:

X -configure
cp /root/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf

3d acceleration using the free software driver

add this at the end of your xorg.conf

Section "DRI"
        Mode    0666
EndSection

sd/mmc card reader

the sd card reader is a tifm_7xx1 i had an issue with a sd card that was not reconised so i bugreported and they told me to try the new version of the driver and it worked... in order to have the new version of the driver http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=8153 Now it works with more recent(than the one out at the time I bugreported) kernel

memory stick reader

integrated into the 2.6.25 kernel...like above it's the tifm chip

fingerprint reader

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_enable_the_fingerprint_reader i've not tryed it

Update Have tried thinkfinger and tfm-fingerprint to no avail, then i stumbled upon an interesting bit of information [1]:G.P. has investigated this and UPEK answered:

> It is a problem of custom firmware of the fingerprint module that Sony
> required for their notebooks. This firmware needs a special key before
> calling any functions, thus Linux driver cannot access them... Only special
> version of PS QL (which has the key build-in) can work with the sensor. Sony
> does not want any other software to be able to communicate with the
> fingerprint sensor.
>
> According to our business agreement, we cannot enclose the Sony's key in our
> Linux BSP.

Anyone fancy trying to work out what Sony's key is by sniffing usb data?

webcam

in order to make your webcam work use the gspcav1 driver:

emerge -av gspcav1

there is a bug...the image is flipped over 180 degrees

• resolved with a patch...look into the bugreport

Screen brightness

i have compiled into the kenrel the "Sony Laptop Extras (SONY_LAPTOP)" module... it's in :

• Device Drivers
  • Misc devices (MISC_DEVICES)

and now i have a /sys/class/backlight/ where i can ajust the backlight:

# cd class/backlight/sony
# ls
actual_brightness  bl_power  brightness  max_brightness  power  subsystem  uevent
# echo 0 > brightness

that lower the brightnese